In the footsteps of Kôshū wine

Yamanashi, Japan

By Tanja Houwerzijl

Nakamura Kazuaki - Chateaux Mercian

The history of Japanese viticulture has its origins in 1877. At the time, Takano Masanori and Tsuchiya Ryûken, employees of the first Japanese wine co-operative, the "Dai-Nihon Yamanashi budoshu kaisha", undertook a trip to France along the paths of the vineyards of Hexagon. They spent forty-six days there and learned the basics of wine making before returning and starting a large-scale wine production in Yamanashi Prefecture. The grape they selected to work with was the local variety, "Kôshû", grown in Japan for 1300 years, originating in the Caucasus and passed along the Silk Road to Japan. This particular grape has the double advantage of being resistant to diseases, rain and cold temperatures and has a fresh texture with a subtle acidity. In the 1970s, the cooperative became "Château Mercian", todays flagship business of Japanese wine. The new name has a clear reference to France, "Chateau" for French vineyards and "Mercian" for Merci. In the process of making "Sake" in Japan, it is a tradition to thank the rice, water and farmers for being able to arrive at the final product. This idea was followed by the makers of Chateau Mercian when they decided on the name of their product.

Nakamura Kazuaki, winemaker of Chateau Mercian

Kondô Nobuyuki - Comazono vineyard

When the sky is clear and he takes care of his vines, Kondô Nobuyuki sees Mount Fuji on the horizon. His vineyard, "Comazono" consists of 25 hectares, it started in 1952 and he manages it by himself without much help and he only produces organic wine. He exclusively works with Kôshû grapes (the violet skin type) from which we produces mostly white wine. Producing organic wine is indeed a major challenge in Japan, since the rainy seasons of June and September, weaken clusters and promote disease. In September, when he is about to harvest and before the first showers arrive, he has a colossal job to do by manually covering each bunch of grapes with a small umbrella of paper.

Komazono is located in the small town of Kôshû, in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan's leading wine producing region. The town alone has about thirty vineyards of the 89 in total in the prefecture. Essentially, they are all very small producers who strive to produce the best wine possible.

Kondô Nobuyuki with his "Tao Kôshū" white wine for which he won the 6th Sakura Japan Women's Wine Award

Miura Makoto - Miura Farm

The Miura farm in the municipality of Enzan, grows table grapes (Kyohô, Peony and Muscat) on about two hectares. A difficult but fulfilling life according to Miura Makoto, 47 years old. Every morning he gets up at 4 am From May to October, he knows he will not be able to afford a single day of rest. Miura Makoto moved to Yamanashi in 2013 with his wife Kahoko and their 10-year-old daughter Akiho. They came from Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture in Northeastern Japan. After the great earthquake of 2011, they wanted to change their lives. The earthquake and the tsunami were a shock to this family that has done everything afterwards to start a new life. After a time of hardship, changing professional life from being an electrician to a farmer, and getting used to life in the mountains instead of life near the sea, nowadays they appreciate their life in Yamanashi a lot. Their disabled daughter has better access to care than when they lived in Iwate which makes them grateful to be here.